Explore the day-to-day living of the Piedmont pioneers. In the historic village of West Point on the Eno we experience the cooking, medicine, work, and play of the settlers. Help churn butter, wash clothes, and strike a flint and steel fire in this hands-on history experience.
In the eighteenth century, Durham was barely a spot on the map, but there were settlers here from all across the world. In this program, we will discover how those families survived on the land through wit, skill, and enduring wisdom. We will see and do many of the things that the pioneers would see and do as they went about their daily chores. This is one of our most popular fall offerings! It makes a great complement to our Native Ways and Early American Life II classes.
The class includes:
- Investigating a homemade rabbit trap
- Participating in a firemaking demonstration
- Each child signing their name using walnut dye and a quill feather pen
- Playing old timey games such as graces, hoop and stick, and the ever-popular potato jousting
- Clothes washing using lye soap and elbow grease
- Butter churning using heavy cream and a bit more elbow grease
This class has a packet of online resources available for download. Use these resources as preparation to bring your group to our program, or as followup after your day at the park.
This class meets the following North Carolina Curriculum Standards: Science: K:3.01; K:4.01; K:4.02; K:4.04; 4:4.01; 4:4.03; 4:4.04, Social Studies: K3.02; 4:3.01